One of the most highly-anticipated heavyweight title fights in
years will go down in Boston in early 2018, as Stipe
Miocic will defend his crown against fast-rising contender
Francis
Ngannou at UFC 220.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking on Wednesday following an
initial report from
MMAjunkie.com. The Las Vegas-based promotion has yet to
formally announce the bout, but verbal agreements are reportedly in
place.

UFC 220 takes place at TD Garden in Boston on Jan. 20 and will also
include a light heavyweight championship clash between Daniel
Cormier and Volkan
Oezdemir. It is currently unclear which title fight would serve
as the evening’s main event.

Miocic captured heavyweight gold with a first-round knockout of
Fabricio
Werdum at UFC 198 and has since successfully defended the belt
with first-round stoppages of Alistair
Overeem at UFC 203 and Junior dos
Santos at UFC 211. The 35-year-old Ohioan has won five straight
and 11 of his 13 Octagon appearances overall.

Ngannou, meanwhile, staked his claim to the No. 1 contender’s spot
with a resounding first-round knockout of Overeem at UFC 218 this
past Saturday. “The Predator” has been victorious in his first six
UFC bouts, finishing all of his opponents inside of two rounds.